How the White House was forced to get new desk chairs for 5-foot-2 Kamala Harris

It could almost be a plot line from the TV sitcom Veep.

The newly installed vice president finds her feet don’t quite touch the floor of the man-sized chairs in her new office.

That’s more or less the situation Kamala Harris inherited when she became the country’s first female vice president in 2021, prompting her staff to order new chairs for her desk that better fit her five-foot-two frame. .

A former attendee said the furniture had only had to cope with the “average male height”.

“She forces us to recalibrate our assumptions,” said Jamal Simmons, who recently resigned as its director of communications, while defending the vice president before the New York Times.

Eagle-eyed observers will also have noticed a change on the desktop.

When she first took office, Harris posted photos showing her sitting at the same desk as her predecessor Mike Pence.

Two months later he revealed that he had switched to a new desk, built from wood salvaged from the USS Constitution warship. Launched in 1797, she is the oldest ship still afloat.

The nugget about the chairs was revealed as aides tried to defend the vice president, pointing to how she had accomplished a number of historic feats, amid complaints in the Democratic Party that she could be the weak link in President Joe Biden’s plans to 2024.

A number of key figures said they had given up hope that she would turn around her role as vice president.

His approval rating is lower than even Biden’s weak standing in the eyes of voters.

And some of the backers who helped her climb to the 2024 ticket say she has failed to use her historic firsts (first woman, first African-American, first Asian vice president) as a springboard to future leader.

Even Biden has expressed doubts. He is quoted calling it a ‘work in progress’ in a new book by Chris Whipple, ‘The Fight of His Life’.

Last week, when they appeared together at the Democratic National Committee winter meeting in Philadelphia, they presented a united front.

“She’s a great vice president,” Biden said.

But questions remain, and they take on greater importance as Biden prepares to announce his 2024 candidacy.

For many, the concern is that Biden’s age — he would be 82 at his second inauguration and 86 at the end of a full term — means Republicans will be able to attack Harris, 58, and his suitability to take over. the oval office

“That will be, in my opinion, one of the strongest arguments against Biden,” John Morgan, a prominent fundraiser for Democrats, including Biden, told the New York Times.

“It doesn’t take a genius to say, ‘Look, at his age, we have to really think about this.'”

His record in office, he added, did not help.

“I can’t think of one thing he’s ever done except stay out of the way and be by his side at certain ceremonies,” he said.

Indeed, the most memorable aspects of his time in office have been the missteps, like an interview with Lester Holt when he made a mess explaining the administration’s plan to secure the border.

The newspaper said dozens of other Capitol Hill and White House Democrats across the country expressed similar sentiments in private.

Others have made their doubts clear by what they have not said in public.

When former Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren recently told Boston Public Radio that she enthusiastically endorsed Biden for a second term, she was asked about Harris.

Although he explained that they “came back a lot,” he said: “I really want to differ on what makes Biden comfortable on his team.”

His supporters say Harris has had to change assumptions since day one on the job.

Aides say they politely decline meetings with foreign first ladies on international trips because Harris is not visiting as a spouse, but as deputy head of state.

At the same time, Harris has resisted taking on roles that reflect the token nature of his vice presidency. She refused to be at Washington Dulles International Airport to receive an advance shipment of baby formula during the shortage last year, according to the report, and Jill Biden went in her place.

Harris acknowledged his reservations.

“My inclination has always been to speak factually, to speak accurately, to speak precisely about issues and issues that have potentially big consequences,” he told the New York Times during an interview in Japan.

‘I find it unpleasant to get involved in commonplaces. I prefer to deconstruct an issue and talk about it in a way that will hopefully elevate public discourse and educate the public.’

His performance was also defended by Ron Klain, Biden’s outgoing chief of staff who also served in the same role for two vice presidents. He said office holders often took a beating before moving on “to prove the skeptics wrong.”

She highlighted her international travels and her support for women’s reproductive rights.

“She has done all of that by operating under high expectations,” he said.

“She carries these expectations not as a burden, but with grace and an understanding of how much her storied role inspires others.”